Hidden
by My Artless Suicide
Summary: Prompted - Naruto's favorite pastime is gardening. Sasuke "does"n't watch.


**A drabble inspired by a photo from Tumblr. - : /naruysole. tumblr post / 27668539865 (Remove Spaces)**

** I'm a horrible Authoress and I am procrastinating, all of the shame upon me. **

* * *

A lone frog makes its way across the koi pond, rippling in the mild breeze. The garden that surrounds also ripples, grass rustling contentedly among rows of elaborate flower displays. A small rose bush gently brushes it's thorns against a neighboring Sakura tree, rapping at the care worn bark with almost indiscernible whispers of sound that carry off into the wind. The sun beats down hazily over it all, mild for a midafternoon in Kohona.

"Hey there little guys!" Naruto Uzumaki beams at his safe haven, bending forward to investigate each wind whipped petal of a plot of gardenias. His sun tanned, soil dusted finger pads slide over each silky surface with the tender touch of a lover. They prod gently along the stems in search of a wandering bug's bite marks, lift carefully each leaf to his eye in search of flecks of yellowing, and rub lightly the rugged surface of these precious plants to test the flexibility and waxiness. After each one passes inspection, as they always have under his attention, he moves on to the next plot, slowly making his way around the entire garden. At the end of these trials he props a hand against the smoothed down bark on the proud Sakura tree, observing his legacy and glory.

The garden was all he had left of the Third Hokage, a strong silent companion of his younger years. It was his personal garden at one time, Naruto remembered, a place where the 'Third Hokage' couldn't enter, a place that was just meant for Sarutobi. That is, until Naruto came along, two and a half feet of curious leg grabbing attention that had the burning need to explore any part of the world he was accepted in.

"_What's that old man?" a tiny munchkin named Naruto asked as he pulled impatiently at the long flowing robes of Sarutobi. _

"_That's the Tsubaki plant, young one. It is nearly as old as you." He smiled that smiled that crinkled the corners of his time worn eyes. _

"_Why are the plants so special, dattebayo? I don't get it." At first it seemed as if Sarutobi would respond, his fingertips fiddling with a protruding Tsubaki petal. Then, however, he slowly straightened his knees until he once again stood, proud and regal against the bright morning sun. _

"_Happiness and contentment are found in the simplest aspects of life, all you have to do is look to what remains. Look to the things that persist in the ashes of death, the things that flourish. It is that you should aspire to be, a single flower petal uncurling every sunrise to soak in life and grow. There is nothing more beautiful." Naruto frowns and sticks out his lip, forehead crinkled in puzzlement. Sarutobi laughs,_

"_Don't worry child, one day you will embrace these words and do great things. Of nothing I am more sure. " _

The week following the last funeral proceedings Naruto lived amongst the flowers, watering the over soaked soil with his tears, until he (and the sky) could produce no more. The next morning he went home, took a shower, ate and went out to the garden to inspect the florae. He realized that the blossoms had become his now, as they had once been Sarutobi's, and vowed to never leave them as they never left him. To this day that promise remained intact.

"Whew, you all are really enjoying this new greenhouse glass I put in! Heh, it was worth every penny!" He drew his frog wallet from the back pocket of his orange pants, rolled up to the knee. After fumbling with the zipper for a few seconds he pulled it aside, frowning heavily when he saw the dust collecting in the empty space. "… If only you guys could grow some of those pennies back."

All in all, the day was going pretty swell in this tiny hidden piece of Kohona, untraceable to the regular shinobi and civilian alike. Naruto know no one else had any knowledge of this area, and crouched in front of clusters of freshly bloomed purple Ajisai with no fear of anyone finding him in the special place. A small snail approached his finger with curiosity and he smiled, wanted nothing else from this moment.

* * *

Unbeknownst to him, a certain raven haired shinobi had discovered the Secret Hokage Garden in the process of tailing his wayward teammate.

Sasuke Uchiha couldn't really explain why it aggravated him quite so much, but it did. And in the grand scheme of things in Sasuke-land, that's the only reason he needed to justify his rather stalker-ish actions.

It started out fairly innocent enough, he had noticed Naruto's airheaded personality and made a kind of silent resolution to keep an eye on the bubbly blonde, if only to make sure he didn't wander into the river and drown or something (it'd throw off their team dynamics and leave him alone with _Sakura._) It didn't take long to notice from there that the orange clad shinobi had an uncanny ability to disappear for hours on end right after training some days, even missing a Kakashi funded trip to the ramen stand. Sasuke knew he didn't go home (not that it mattered that he knew where Naruto's home was) but didn't pursue the matter…

Well, not until now.

Today it had been calling to him, the secret that someone like Naruto had managed to keep, and honestly Sasuke just didn't have the will to resist anymore. It was just the dobe, after all, how important could it really be?

Now, standing in the rickety doorframe of a small shack filled with plant supplies, overlooking an enormous garden that practically enveloped his blue eyed terror, Sasuke saw the need for secrecy. No one deserved to see his dobe like this, tenderly embracing the wildlife in his palm amongst burst of color, tiny droplets of water catching in his sunshine locks as it began to drizzle.

And maybe this made Sasuke smile a little, but he stayed back in the shadows, and it was too hard to tell.


End file.
